Form 2290 and the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax for Canadian Carriers Running Into the US

The Heavy Vehicle Use Tax is a federal excise tax collected by the Internal Revenue Service on highway motor vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more that are used on US public highways. It is not a state tax and it is not part of IRP or IFTA, but it is tied to IRP: a carrier registering or renewing apportioned plates for a vehicle at or above the threshold must show the IRS-stamped Schedule 1 proving the tax was paid or suspended. That is how most Canadian carriers first meet it.

Any owner of a vehicle at or above 55,000 pounds taxable gross weight that uses US highways, including Canadian and Mexican owners. The tax year runs July 1 to June 30, and the return for a vehicle in use in July is due August 31; a vehicle first used later in the year is prorated and due at the end of the month after first use. The amount is $100 for 55,000 pounds plus $22 for each 1,000 pounds above that, capped at $550 for vehicles at 75,000 pounds and over. A vehicle expected to run 5,000 miles or less on US highways in the year — 7,500 for agricultural vehicles — is reported as suspended and pays nothing, which covers many Canadian trucks that cross only occasionally.

The carrier needs a US Employer Identification Number, which a Canadian business obtains from the IRS, and files Form 2290 electronically through an IRS-approved provider; e-filing is required for fleets of 25 or more vehicles and is the practical route for everyone. The stamped Schedule 1 comes back electronically and goes to the IRP office with the apportioned registration application. Miss it and the plates wait.

The suspension depends on US highway miles per vehicle in the July-to-June year, and a vehicle that was suspended and then exceeds the limit becomes taxable with an amended return. The telematics jurisdiction report gives US miles per vehicle for any period, so the suspension claim is a measured figure rather than a hope, and the amended return is filed when the report crosses the line rather than discovered at audit. High Point GPS sets up US-miles reporting for Canadian carriers in Quebec and Ontario alongside their IRP and IFTA reporting.